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Canada's extinguishment of Innu Rights in Labrador

SEPT-IIES, QC, Nov. 18, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - A Quebec-based Innu
community from Sept-Iles is denouncing the Canadian Government's bad
faith in its dealings with their land claim in Labrador.

"By signing a comprehensive land deal with the Labrador Innu, Canada is
in the same breath breaching its fiduciary obligation towards our land
claims in Labrador. In 1979, Canada agreed to negotiate our
constitutionally-protected aboriginal rights in Labrador. Yet, today by
unilaterally signing a land deal with the Labrador Innu without all
Innu rights-holders being at the table, Canada is showing its true
colors, bad faith and its willingness to pursue a policy of
extinguishment of inherent aboriginal rights denounced many times by
the United Nations Human Rights Committee " stated Innu Chief
Georges-Ernest Gregoire. "We are not against our Innu brothers and
sisters seeking redress from past injustices, and wanting to improve
their lives with this land deal, but we are certainly against an
agreement signed by Canada that has far-reaching impacts on our
economic rights and our sacred relationship to our lands, our resources
and our territories in Labrador. Our footprints are everywhere on this
land as evidenced by historical and archeological facts in the
"Vollant" Court proceedings against Canada," he said.

"It is unfortunate that a year after Canada's endorsement of the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Conservative
Government failed to honour our basic human rights. Making the
recognition and protection of Indigenous Peoples' collective rights to
lands and resources an explicit objective of federal policies would
have been the appropriate course of action to take " concluded
Gregoire.

In April 2006, Canada was slammed by the UN Human Rights Committee and
urged the federal government to re-examine its policy and practices to
ensure they do not result in extinguishment of inherent aboriginal
rights. The Committee asked to receive more detailed information on the
comprehensive land claims agreement that Canada is currently
negotiating with the Innu people of Quebec and Labrador, in particular
regarding its compliance with the U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.